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Brandon eatery sets dining on stone

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By LAURA FRAZIER

lfrazier@tampatrib.com

Published: May 13, 2009

BRANDON - Jane and Bill Bugni drove along Bloomingdale Avenue one evening a few months ago, looking for someplace to grab a bite to eat.

Near Bell Shoals Road, Jane Bugni asked her husband to pull over and wait in the car while she scoped out a new restaurant.

"I walked in, looked at the menu, walked right back out and frantically waved him in," she said. "That started our love affair with Rock N Pineapple."

The Bugnis dine once or twice a week at the casual, contemporary eatery that opened in January in the Plaza Bella shopping center.

Riverview residents Sergio Arce and Maribeth Hernandez designed the concept, which centers on a unique presentation and cooking method. Most meat, seafood and vegetables on the menu never see the inside of an oven.

For each order, the chef heats a square granite cooking stone about the size of a dinner plate to nearly 900 degrees. Once the rock is heated, the chef removes it from the oven and places the raw food on it, turning the food to sear it. Servers deliver the sizzling meal in progress to the dining room, where customers slice and continue turning the food at their tables, one bite at a time, to complete the cooking.

"It's almost like going to a Japanese steakhouse, but you're the chef," Arce said.

The menu boasts prime cuts of meat heralded for flavor and tenderness, such as Japanese-style Kobe and Black Angus beef, Japanese-style sushi-grade Kurobuta pork and free-range, hormone-free chicken. No marinades, salts or tenderizers are used to prepare the meat and seafood entrees.

"We do not do any harm to the protein, so you're really tasting it," Arce said.

To round out the menu, the couple created their own versions of fajitas, burgers, sandwiches and salads. Among the starters offered, lobster bites and lettuce wraps are customer favorites.

Pineapple, the traditional symbol of hospitality that serves as the restaurant logo, pops up in everything from starters to desserts, including the popular Rock N Pineapple Sundae.

Marc Lynn eats there once a week. Aside from his fondness for the Habanero chicken sandwich and house-label draft beer - Rock N Pineapple Red - the Valrico resident said he keeps coming back for the atmosphere and hands-on cooking experience. "It makes dinner more fun," Lynn said.

Jane Bugni agreed.

"It's neighborly, and the service is superb. We just feel very comfortable here."

IF YOU GO

ROCK N PINEAPPLE

1020 Bloomingdale Ave., Brandon

HOURS: 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday (brunch is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday)

INFORMATION: (813) 321-4900 or www.rocknpineapple.com

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

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